Gabrielli: One Intonation — Two Soundworlds

Historical Listening Laboratory Gabrieli: One Intonation — Two Sound Worlds What does an instrument invite the performer to do? For this experiment, the specimen is deliberately small: Giovanni Gabrieli’s Intonatio Secundi Toni, one of a group of brief intonations designed to establish a tonal or modal world through chords, scales, and brilliant passagework. This small piece poses a big question for the fourth episode of this series. Gabrieli (c. 1554–1612) lived across one of the great transitional periods in European music, from the Renaissance into the early Baroque. For this performance, the same intonation is placed into two Italian sound worlds on either side of that transition. The registration remains essentially constant: a principal chorus up to the Vigesima seconda (2'). The performer remains the same. The piece remains the same. But the instruments do not. Renaissance — Valvasone (1532–1533) The first performance uses the historic Renaissance organ at Valvasone sampled by Sonus Paradisi. Its principal sound is warm, full, and remarkably gentle. Particularly in the lower registers, the pipes need just enough time for the tone to develop and bloom. This characteristic changed how I wanted to play Gabrielli's intonation. Although additional diminution and ornamentation were certainly possible in the lower running passages, they never seemed as satisfying as Gabrieli’s written out version of mostly running eighth notes in the left hand. Greater restraint allowed the individual tones—and the instrument itself—time to speak. The organ seemed already to be supplying complexity through its sound. Early Baroque — Farkasrét Venetian Replica sample by Augustine's Virtual Organs The second performance uses a replica of a Venetian Baroque organ. Here the principal chorus speaks with greater immediacy and definition. The sound is not cold or harsh, but its edges are clearer and its response more direct. And something unexpected happened. The instrument did not merely tolerate additional ornamentation in the left hand passages, it invited it. Suddenly there seemed to be room for greater activity. The lower running passages could be embellished just as freely as those in the upper voice without sacrificing clarity. What had seemed unnecessary on Valvasone now seemed natural. The score had not changed. My musical imagination had. And that may be the most interesting result of this experiment. Historical performance practice can tell us what kinds of ornaments were possible or customary. But possibility alone does not tell us when a musician might have wanted to use them. The instrument itself may have participated in that decision. A warmer, blooming sound rewarded restraint. A more immediate and clearly articulated sound invited greater density. Or, put another way: Valvasone glows warmly. Farkasrét gleams brightly. And those two ways of sounding encouraged two different ways of playing. So perhaps the historical question is not only: How did musicians ornament this music? It may also be: What were they hearing that made them want to ornament it? One little inquiry. One little specimen. One changed condition. One BIG effect. Performance Guide 0:00 — Renaissance: Valvasone 1:15 — Early Baroque: Farkasrét Performed and produced by David McKinney, D.M.A. The Singing Organist Historical Listening Laboratory One Inquiry. Many Listenings. Disclaimer: The photos of organs are not the actual organs being performed on. These are similar looking ones generated by AI. #HistoricalListening #GiovanniGabrieli #EarlyMusic #OrganMusic #PipeOrgan #RenaissanceMusic #BaroqueMusic #PerformancePractice